BRANDED
by Neil Davies
Summary: abducted by a scientist who wishes to exploit his unique features, Caine proves a most remarkable subject, look out for the fish-tank scene.


25

BRANDED

The screech of many tyres where the only warnings, the limos seemed to come out of nowhere like they'd been dropped from the sky six of them converged on the deserted downtown storage facility, known to the locals as the cooler. It was a hangout for the homeless and dispossessed, occasionally it housed a dead body; on very rare occasions it contained a surprise – like on that day.

Men in suits poured from the limos, young, smart, slick and fit they had ear pieces and sharp creases they looked like they meant business, they oozed menace and somebody was in big trouble. Most of them were white guys, under thirty and very poised like they were used to hunting for prey.

In charge of them and only slightly older Max Philby took his time leaving the first limo, he was heavier set with puffy jowls and slower movements. Max didn't have to be fit; he paid people for that kind of thing.

"We're here," he said into his collar microphone not adding that the place looked derelict because it always looked like that, "The team are containing the area as we speak," no cameras anywhere they'd been vandalised years ago and never replaced because the owners were cheap hucksters who didn't pay taxes.

Max watched his team divide into two and threes to encircle the cooler, no guns that had been made very clear the employer didn't want any shooting; this was a pick up not a hit, witnesses were to be intimidated and Max was good at that he'd enjoyed it ever since his time in Bosnia.

"God this place is a dump," he complained, "Reminds me of where I grew up."

Max was from the Bronx, the biggest toilet on earth in his view, "If he's here at all he's probably inside; it's freezing today," buttoning his jacket Max blew into his massive hands, big hands that made bigger fists. "I'll let you know when we've got him and if he came quietly," a chuckle escaped the portly man, quietly or not it would make little difference to the outcome, the team never failed, he never failed.

Three men reached a door at the side of the cooler, overhead ran a glass corridor connecting the cooler to a neighbour. One of the men tried the door and to his surprise it opened, he had hoped he'd be able to bust it because he liked busting things.

Yet as he opened the door something came through, someone, a man – long hair, a hat, no shoes…my god he had no shoes on in this freezing cold. An attempt to grab him was met with a palm heel to the face that dumped the door opener on the ground dazed. Get him his eyes flashed and the two other collectors moved in. One took a bare foot to the chest that sent him flying, literally flying through the air into some bins. The other was suddenly in a wrist lock that twisted him to his knees with an oath of pain, he couldn't get out of it couldn't do anything.

Door opener got up, to hell with this, he grabbed a crowbar. It was time to crack a head and get this over with.

For some reason he lost the bar, lost the use of his arm, lost the ability to breathe then he couldn't stand upright anymore he was falling, going down hard, out of it.

Caine released the wrist lock; he didn't need it anymore, not after his thumb went into an artery in the neck to put his victim to sleep. Three attackers – all now unconscious but the danger hadn't passed he could sense more.

Running to cover he squatted down as three more suits appeared even bulkier ones, they were spaced well apart and very poised like hunting dogs; they were looking for him. Letting them pass he uncoiled knowing they would find him anyway but wanting it on his terms, his bare feet made not a sound on the frosty earth as he approached.

One turned just before the kick impacted with his chin, a smooth fast fluid move with no effort involved. Caine spun; pivoting 180 degrees until he was closer to another body, his left foot shot back catching the guy in the diaphragm, perfectly timed, and perfectly positioned dumping him near a wall.

The last guy threw a punch, he was a boxer and it was a good left hook that should have landed but it didn't, it was forearmed aside then Caine had the arm using it as a fulcrum to throw the heavy to pitch him in midair right over so that his head hit the concrete first.

"There he is," the shout caused Caine to leap like a big cat covering an incredible distance and avoid the hypodermic dart full of sedative, landing on top of a heavy drum Caine used this as a launch pad for another leap an even more impressive one that took him right into the party of four men, men in no way prepared for what he was going to do or how fast he could do it.

Max frowned, he had lost contact with people they just weren't responding and they were men who never ignored him, they knew better. Something was wrong he felt it before he saw the body flying through the air head over heels to land at his feet unconscious and bruised, an ex navy SEAL he would have backed in a fight with anyone, certainly some hippy with bare feet well passed the first flush of youth.

Caine - had to be; this guy matched the description perfectly.

Other suits ran at him, one was nailed with a kick so fast Max barely even saw it, could anyone kick like that? Another somehow ran into an elbow that dislocated his jaw alarmingly, a third was tripped so artfully that he flew right over the hood of a limo without even touching the paintwork, a fourth doubled over and collapsed after taking a slap – yes a damned slap, a fifth missed with every punch he threw then dropped in a heap when Caine tapped him between the eyes with a couple of fingers.

What the hell was going on, how could one man beat so many so easily and so swiftly?

Max's biggest ugliest colleague went for a wrestling bear hug his specialty, but Caine slid out of it and through the tree trunk arms to sit down on the ground with cross legs, then his hands shot up and back, his thumbs (yes thumbs) hit Davey in the lower belly and the 235 grappler gave a grunt, a twitch then landed face down on the gravel paralysed.

Caine sat there serene and unbothered, he looked at Max and Max looked back stunned, what was occurring here how could this be happening?

He wondered what to do, how to explain this; what excuses would hold?

Walking towards Caine slowly he raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, "Hey look fella," he said in a fake genial tone, "There was no need to do that to my men, I mean you totally trashed them; they're littering the area like used tin cans."

Caine did not smile he did not respond in any way at all.

"I'm just doing a job," said Max, "I was paid for a pick up and you're it, or you were; guess it's not going to happen now is it?"

Squatting down so he was at eye level the team leader licked his thick lips with a dry tongue, "You could come with me anyway, you could choose to get in one of these limos and make life easier for all of us."

Caine looked deeply into his eyes, deeper than anyone had ever done before; so deep Max felt his soul laid bare and every dirty secret revealed – he had so many sins that now he felt dirty and unworthy.

"They tell me you're a priest, is that right - some kind of ordained Buddhist pastor? Me I'm a lapsed catholic very lapsed actually, ten years since my last confession with plenty to confess. I lie, cheat, steal, hurt people sometimes very badly, so badly that they…"

Max parted his hands, "I don't want to hurt you Mr Caine you're special, unique or so I'm told and important people want to see you."

Finally Caine rose to his feet he did it so slowly and so carefully that Max got the impression he was totally devoid of fear, a man without fear of any kind, could such a thing exist in this world?

Finally Joey fired his dart gun and the dart hit Caine in the arm, thank god the punk hadn't missed.

Looking down at the dart Caine made no move to take it out, he displayed no pain yet the barb must have hurt unless he felt no pain as well as no fear.

Fall over Max prayed, please pass out or at least become drowsy. But instead Caine walked right up the lead limo and got into it, then glancing at Max he gave an ironic smile.

"Sometimes," he said softly, "I hurt people badly to,"

Joey ran over perplexed, "He not down yet boss?"

No thought Max he isn't, this is not a man who goes down; maybe he can't be beaten by anything.

Dr Yen regarded Max in that cold fish-eye way of his, no emotion, virtually no interest; was the guy even human he didn't seem it, he was rich though yeah big bucks after all this place the clinic had to worth six or seven million no sweat and then there were the staff and the vehicles and all that fancy high tech equipment.

"He defeated all of your men, every single one of them in combat," Yen was asking in his dead pan voice?

Max coloured, "I don't understand it sir, they're ex army, ex police; all experts."

Yen waved this aside like it didn't matter so Max cleared his throat, "The sedative didn't work either."

"Of course not," Yen snorted, "As a shaolin master he can control his metabolism perfectly, I would have rejected him had he been so easily subdued."

Having very little idea what a shaolin master was Max just nodded, "He came voluntarily, I mean he could have trashed me and just walked away but he didn't, he just got in the limo calm as you please and said nothing on the way over."

"He is curious about us," Yen nodded, "This is a good thing, he wants to know as much about us as we do about him."

"With respect sir what is there to know about a guy with no job, no money, no home and no shoes," In max's view they were dealing with a drifter, an itinerant bum?

Yen regarded him with disdain, "You see only outward appearances Mr Philby, you are a man devoid of perceptive skills or imagination. Caine is far more than he outwardly appears, he is very special indeed and he has much to teach us. He is the real reason I established the clinic in the first place."

Max scratched an ear, "I thought you were interested in human potential, at least that's what I was told."

"Caine will allow us to explore it in much greater depth; his shaolin training and self-control make him exceptional in so many ways."

"He can fight," Max conceded.

"He can do far more than that," a large plasma screen came on showing the prisoner sat within a glass cube with electrodes attached to parts of his anatomy, he seemed as serene and unconcerned as before.

Yen said, "Since he arrived here we have subjected him to near zero freezing temperatures, but Caine simply raised his own body temperature to a more comfortable level by an act of will. So we made his cell roasting hot, unbearably so, Caine lowered his core temperature by 5 degrees using the same psychic method. We then subjected him to ear splitting noise, enough to make a man go insane in under twenty minutes. Caine endured it for two hours by switching off his auditory nerves, he made himself deaf and that should be impossible."

"Is he still deaf," Max asked. Hitting a switch Yen waved go ahead ask him. So approaching a microphone Max coughed, "Mr Buddhist can you hear me?"

A smile, an angling of the head and then Caine looked right at Max as if able to see him through a camera lens.

Not deaf Max decided, not affected by cold, heat or noise.

"I'm sorry about the rough treatment so far," he said although he wasn't sorry at all men like him didn't do sorrow.

Caine's response was a shrug, a damn shrug like he didn't even care; did nothing bug him at all, did nothing break that aloof calm he wore like a scarf?

"Let us do another test," said Dr Yen, "Perhaps you would like to take part Mr Philby; I'm sure it will appeal to your macho mindset."

Was that a veiled insult, a little dig at him?

"We will go to the lab as this requires our physical presence, don't worry I'm sure Mr Caine won't try to escape."

"Can he," Max asked, "Is it possible?"

"I do not know," Yen admitted, "It is going to be interesting to find out."

The lab was big but didn't have many people in it mostly uniformed goons and this lot were armed, two guys in white coats opened up the glass cage and they were pretty beefy to like college wrestlers. Offering no resistance Caine barely even looked at them, he was looking at Max instead and Max felt judged, exposed and in need of a confession.

Yen gave him the needle and it was a big sucker, sharp to.

"I think you know what to do," Yen's eyes were smiling with pleasure now; the little creep was really getting off on this.

Approaching the prisoner Max watched him pull back a cuff, extend his arm and turn it over. Caine had a brand burned into his wrist, Jesus it looked painful it had been seared deep into the flesh, it was some kind of…yes it was, a Chinese dragon

Yen chuckled with delight, "The brands of shaolin," he purred, "Dragon on the right wrist, tiger on the left. The dragon represents spiritual enlightenment, the tiger is for strength and endurance; yin and yang I believe they are called. The brands represent a final challenge met and conquered; a rite of passage. To get them the disciple must lift a heavy urn filled with burning coals."

Max felt his stomach turn over, why would anyone do such a thing, it must hurt like hell?

Yen went on, "Self mutilation is quite common in primitive cultures – piercing, burning, scarring; they all represent a degree of mastery over the self; a coming of age or as in this case the becoming of a shaolin priest, all such priests have these brands it distinguishes them from novices and monks."

Swallowing Max let Caine see the needle, the guy didn't so much as flinch instead he nodded; go ahead do it and see if I care.

Placing the needle point against Caine's palm max applied pressure, he'd tortured guys in the past for data and pleasure and it hadn't bothered him, so why did it bother him now? Was it the fact Caine was a priest like Father Daly in his local church, the last man to hear him confess; the man who listened to his Mamma confessing every Sunday?

Max pushed the needle into the flesh, through the flesh; he pressed it as hard as he could until it came out the other side until it had impaled the hand totally. There was no blood; no scream of pain, Caine didn't as much as grimace.

Max stepped back shaken knowing neither he nor any of his men could endure such a thing.

"I don't believe it," he said but Yen was nodding.

"Many eastern disciplines teach the removal of pain, clearly the shaolin tradition has taken it to a very high level."

"You mean this guy can anaesthetise himself in some way," Max was startled?

"Mr Caine simply commands his body to feel no pain and so strong is his will that it obeys."

Bullshit thought Max nobody can do that, it's impossible. He looked back at the hand – the needle was no longer within it but held by it, Caine had pulled the thing out by himself but strangest of all – he had no wound no hole in his flesh.

"Excellent," Yen said with delight.

Max took the hand and turned it over several times, he had pierced it all the way through, and then the hand grabbed him and held him with easy strength.

"Do not be afraid," Caine instructed like Max was the prisoner and not him and Max thought – yeah maybe I am and have been for years, a prisoner of my past and my record and my greed.

"He plays mind games with you," Yen chuckled, "Pretends to offer you a choice."

Caine's eyes darted to the scientist, "All men have a choice," he said and the humour left Yen's features to be replaced by a scowl. He didn't like that thought Max, it touched a nerve.

When Yen waved a sheet was pulled off a large glass tank, this was filled with water and swimming in the water were various tropical creatures, Max didn't know them all but he did recognise one species – piranha, the flesh eating little critters from South America who could strip meat to the bone in moments.

Yen said, "Piranha, scorpion fish, a baby manta ray, dwarf mako shark, a sea snake and an electric eel. All of them are either poisonous or carnivorous and they will attack anything that intrudes in their watery little world. They are in short predators, killers, some of the deadliest creatures that swim."

Max shivered at the sight of them, then some guy in a lab coat took a small animal from a cage to one side it was a gerbil or something and it wriggled nervously as if knowing what was coming. The poor creature was tossed into the tank of water and Max blinked in horror at what happened next.

Within a second the water was red with blood as the gerbil was torn apart by a dozen vicious jaws, ripped to pieces by lethal bites from fish, shark and eel who turned on it murderously and showed no mercy. The poor thing was gone in moments; nothing of it remained not the tail or any fur.

"Impressive are they not," Yen crowed?

"The point of that being," Max was angrily, upset and disgusted?

"Emotion Mr Philby, you surprise me?"

"I don't see the point in butchering some defenceless animal for pleasure."

"Not pleasure, there is a point to all of this," Yen waved and Caine was brought over to the tank, dear god what was going to happen now?

"Mr Caine at the bottom of this tank is a gold coin; you can see it I feel sure. I would like you to extract it from the tank with your hand."

Max jerked with horror, oh Christ no had Yen lost his mind?

"It can't be done," he objected.

"It can, by a shaolin priest," Yen responded.

"They'll tear his arm off, this is insane."

Yen's eyes frosted over becoming very hard and unyielding, "Do you wish to leave the room Max, I thought you had a stronger stomach than this; what horrors did you see in Bosnia how many people did you kill?"

That had been war, survival. "Nobody can put their hand in that tank and keep it."

But Yen was looking at the prisoner, "Well Mr Caine is that right, is this little test beyond even you?"

Meeting the mean little eyes Caine showed no fear, indeed he had become incredibly relaxed; even more relaxed than before and his breathing pattern had altered becoming deeper and slower. Max thought of a soldier going into battle or a condemned man facing the firing squad.

Even so he surely wasn't crazy enough to go along with this, it made no sense.

Caine removed his jacket then his shirt, his body was lean and rangy not overly muscled but strong and sinewy. Approaching the tank he widened his stance and sank into it, his arms inscribed an inward moving circle over the water until the palms met, then the right hand curled into a fist and retreated to Caine's waist leaving the left outstretched.

Horse-riding stance Max thought but what was the guy going to do, use speed to try and beat the monsters gliding inches below his hand, surely even he wasn't fast enough to beat a shark, an eel and the others?

Caine's hand sank to the surface of the water without breaking it then very, very slowly it touched the water palm down, fingers splayed, moments later it sank below the surface and Max felt his heart pounding, his bowels clutch. The gliding, toothy monsters circled the tank, ugly horrors each a killer. The hand descended inch by inch, slowly and smoothly passing between the carnivores. None attacked it; none paid it much heed not even the piranha. Continuing its downward journey the hand passed by the shark, the scorpion fish and the eel without disturbing them until it reached the bottom of the tank; only then did the fingers slowly close to form a crane's beak, at the centre of the beak held by the finger tips was the coin.

The shark swung down suddenly, was it going to bite to rip the hand off? No it swept passed lazily. Caine's hand began the return journey rising with agonizing sloth, a piranha went over to sniff at it; the hand paused and just floated there. The eel coiled around it without touching, those needle sharp teeth exposed but not used.

Caine continued up and up, was he going to make it?

A piranha brushed against his forearm, turned curiously but did not bite, the shark's dorsal fin tickled Caine's wrist but that was all, the sea snake fat with venom watched lazily – one nip from those fangs and Caine's arm would have to be amputated to save his life.

Caine reached the surface of the water, exited, water dripped off the coin and his flesh. Pulling his hand clean he looked at the coin then threw it languidly at Dr Yen, forcing him to catch it.

Yen blinked in astonishment, nobody spoke not even Max; everyone stood there in awed disbelief. What they had seen was impossible.

Taking a towel Caine wiped his damp arm then began to put his shirt back on, he was the only one in the room unaffected by what had happened. Why hadn't the fish attacked him, torn his limb off? Max had no answers; it was the most incredible thing he'd ever seen like putting your head in a lion's jaws.

Finally Yen regained the power of speech, "I think we're done for now," he said his voice tight with shock. Yeah thought Max you can say that again doc.

Liking to keep in shape Max lifted a few weights, he had them in his private room at the clinic; small hand-held things for curling and pumping he used them to ease off any tension and he had plenty after the fish tank episode. A buzz made him look up, he had a caller it was Yubi the Filipino girl he'd grown close to, like him she was a mercenary who worked here as a guard and she'd been in the lab.

Mid twenties and powerfully built in an athletic kind of way Yubi had earthy good looks and very long black hair held in place by combs; a fringe tickling her plucked eyebrows.

"You okay Max," she asked knowing he wasn't, reading the signs.

"Are you," he threw back curling his right bicep?

"Who the hell is this guy Caine, why is he here." Yubi wanted to know?

"Yen thinks he's superhuman, looks like he is," Max lowered the weight into its box and picked up a towel.

"That fish tank thing totally freaked me out, "Yubi admitted, "I'm not sure bringing Caine here was a good idea, how the hell are we going to hold him?"

"You know what the doc is like, he thinks he can do anything and get away with it," Max let his contempt show a bit, Yubi was the only one here he'd risk letting his guard down with.

"You don't think that though do you," the girl asked, "You don't believe Yen can control Caine?"

No thought Max this time the doc had met his match, it was obvious on his face.

"Are we in trouble," Yubi asked not normally unsettled by anything or anyone?

"I think that maybe we need to cover our own asses," Max admitted, "After all if he has Caine, the doc hardly needs us does he."

"If Caine cooperates with Yen, do you think he will?"

Nobody had ever escaped the clinic or defied the doc; then again there was nobody like this Caine.

Pulling on his jacket Max went over to the girl and kissed her full on the mouth, "Come on," he said and led her out of the room.

The lab was silent, subdued lighting made it easy, the fish tank had gone thank god but the equipment was still buzzing away lightly, screen savers swimming about, no sign of any guards not that they'd bother Max he was too well known and Yubi was in uniform.

They went over to the glass cube that was supposed to hold the prisoner, it didn't, there was no sign of Caine within it or near it but hadn't he been locked away after the 'test'. Looking at Yubi, Max took out a weapon; what was going on had the doc removed Caine for more 'tests' without telling them?

"Not here," the girl muttered holding her own weapon, "But he's meant to be here all the time so he can be monitored during sleep."

Then Max kicked something on the floor it almost tripped him over, squatting down he check it out. Chico was one of the lab guards and he lay on his side out cold with not a mark on him.

"Yubi," the girl sprinted over seeing instantly that Chico had been overpowered in some way.

"Caine's escaped," she muttered.

Out of the gloom came a voice soft and ghostly, "I have not," a lamp came on showing Caine sat cross legged on top of a desk, hands on his knees, back straight and expression unconcerned.

Squinting at the man Max couldn't figure him out, "What's going on mister, how did you get out of the cube, what did you do to Chico? He's been in 3 wars and is one of the most vicious fighters I've ever met."

But Yubi had another question, "Why haven't you left the clinic, what are still here for?"

"You don't want to escape do you," Max reasoned, "You want to take on Yen, that's why you're really here, you let us capture you?"

The shaolin renegade regarded him, "You do not belong here," he said very directly a little too directly for Max's tastes.

"I'm a mercenary, I work for the highest bidder and Yen pays big bucks."

But Caine wasn't having any of that, he shook his head slowly and Max realised the emptiness of his answer, the big money was interesting him less and less; he felt dirty, used and a little ashamed of himself.

"Habit I guess, the lure of the familiar," he admitted, "After all what else am I going to do?"

"Many things," said Caine, "Any thing you desire," he made it sound so simple.

"I'm not like you Caine I don't have your abilities."

"Have you ever sought them, expected more from yourself?"

Max thought of what he'd done in his life, what he'd settled for, the compromises he'd made and the excuses.

"Dr Yen would never allow us to just leave," said Yubi, "You don't know what he's like, how long his reach is."

But Caine's reply to this was, "To live in fear is not to live at all," Then he turned to the lab door and stood framed in it was Yen, the little man was holding something long and slender and when he came into the light Max was astonished to see it was a Samurai sword. It looked so ancient and so brutal amidst all the science and Yen himself wore traditional Japanese dress, the Hakama with a metal breast plate.

Jesus he even looked like a Samurai, was he in fancy dress?

"Doctor," Max began but Yen silenced him with a glare saying to Caine.

"My great grand father was a warrior Mr Caine and this is his sword, he bequeathed it to me along with his spirit and passion. It is why I am such a success."

Caine sighed, unfolding from the desk to stand before his enemy, "Are you," he questioned?

"You doubt that I am successful," Yen roared, "Look around you at all I've achieved."

"Fear," Caine replied, "Hatred, greed, despair – are these things so noble, so desirable, are they what a warrior would respect, do you think I respect them?"

The katana rose and shimmered brightly, "You insult me Mr Caine you mock me, maybe you think yourself superior to me. It is true that you have many amazing abilities but I do not think you are better than me, shall we find out?"

Caine stood there unarmed, apparently vulnerable and Max thought – this is hardly a fair fight, a blade against empty hands.

"Doctor wait," he began but the katana circled in the air and swept towards him stopping just shy of his heart, it could have killed him and in Yen's eyes he saw the desire to kill, the manic gleam of a true fanatic.

"You are a coward Mr Philby I see it in your eyes, you lack the true spirit of bushido and so are useless to me. When I have finished with Mr Caine here we will have to discuss your future, or lack thereof with my organisation."

Max felt Yubi pull him back out of the way, there was nothing he could do or say to stop this so why bother? Yen was mad, maybe he always had been. Facing Caine the doctor nodded for him to ready himself but Caine was always ready.

The sword lunged, cut down, stabbed hard, and slashed.

It hit – nothing. Like a ghost Caine wasn't there to be cut, his speed was amazing as was the way he avoided the katana.

With a scream Yen pivoted still cutting and stabbing, his ability with a sword not in doubt, he was so fast and his timing was perfect but Caine kept moving, circling, dodging, his arms forming patterns in the air that bewitched the senses. How did avoid having them lopped off?

Yen lunged hard going for a kill, at the last moment Caine evaded the metal, stepped forwards, caught the arms and threw Yen sending him careering across the lab to crash onto the linoleum floor winded.

Picking himself up the doctor was panting hard, sweat beading his small round face, from it loathing radiated in waves. He attacked again hacking and slashing crudely, Caine avoided the rush and tripped his opponent sending him head first into some test tubes which were shattered. Chemicals splashed on Yen and burned him, he screamed in agony as his skin blistered.

Caine waited, also breathing hard, his sleeves cut to ribbons, his jacket now no more than a rag but he wasn't bleeding. Attacking once, half blinded, Yen went for the head, the heart, a bare foot slammed into the breast plate tipping him off balance, another foot found his outer thigh; an open hand chopped the side of his neck.

Yen grunted, cried out, half turned then fell, spinning out of control towards something in the corner – a tank with a cloth on top of it. He went through the cloth and took it with him into warm tropical water in which swam…

Max gasped, he cried out a warning but it was too late.

Yen was in the fish tank, he was thrashing about surrounded by monsters.

Max wasn't sure which bit first, which stung, which tore a chunk of bloody meat loose with its jaws. All he saw were surging, coiling bodies, flashing teeth, rabid eyes and then the tank was full of red ink, a blossoming blanket of spreading crimson.

Yen tried to get out but he couldn't, he was jammed in there by the sword and his armour.

"Shit, we must get him out," Max heard himself say but how…how did they do it?

Yen disappeared under the biting, stinging, hungry bodies of his pets as they tore into him frenziedly, insanely, feeding, devouring.

Caine pushed Max back, there was no point in two men dying. Leave said Caine's eyes; this is your chance to be free to escape this.

"You killed him," Max accused then thought better of it, Yen had killed himself and many others. Taking Yubi by her hands he pulled her away, at the door he looked back wondering what Caine was going to do but the lab was empty, Caine had gone and the only sounds came from the fish tank.


End file.
